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Sunday, March 11, 2012

Andy LaRoche Weekend

I went to the Frank and Sons Card Show on Saturday. It is a show that occurs twice a week and a buddy and I try to make it down there once a month. The show usually has some good cheap autos and game used cards. Also, a dealer or two may have a nice deal on a box.

That is where I purchased my 2011 Topps Lineage box that was featured in my last post. The deal was good on the box but, the selection of well priced singles weren't to be found. One of the sellers that I go to, usually has hundreds of hits separated in $2, $5, and $10 boxes. I tend to mix and match from these boxes to get a better deal on the per card price. This time the seller had a very small selection. Somebody must have cleaned him out.

The show was kind of a bust for me. But, my buddy had some cards to trade me. I have been accumulating a bunch of NBA game used cards for him. I built up a stack of a dozen to trade him. Thank you blog world for sending me some nice basketball cards.

I brought my stack and he brought his. It was time to trade. He traded me this sweet 2007 Exquisite Andy LaRoche and Tony Abreu auto #ed/20!

I never would have found this card on my own. Heck, I never even knew that this card was out in the world. This card would have been searched for by me, if I knew it had existed.

This card fulfills my burgeoning Andy LaRoche collection and my failed Dodger prospects collection. LaRoche and Abreu fit that bill. Abreu is wearing shades in his photo to hide the shame of being a bust. Don't worry Abreu, I may be one of the few people alive that actually would recognize you.

The Andy LaRoche weekend didn't stop at the card show. The LaRocheness continued when I arrived home. As the only Andy LaRoche super collector, I had to write him a letter. I told him that I am a big fan of his and have been waiting for him to break out in the big leagues. I also wished him good luck and hope that he sticks with the Cleveland Indians.

I said a lot of complimentary things to him. I also may be the only person that wrote a nice letter to LaRoche and meant those comments. I really do wish him the best and I do wish he worked out for the Dodgers.

At one point in the baseball world, Andy LaRoche was a top notch prospect. He was supposed to supplant Adrian Beltre as the Dodgers 3rd baseman. Laroche was a part of a loaded Dodger minor league system at the time. The early to mid 2000s had a lot of good Dodgers playing in the minors such as Chad Billingsley, Jonathan Broxton, Russell Martin, Hong Chih Kuo, Matt Kemp, James Loney, and Andy LaRoche. All of the other guys have played well in the big leagues except LaRoche.

That makes me pull for him even harder. He saw all of his peers that he came up with have nice success while he has floundered in LA, Oakland, Pittsburgh, and now fighting just for a roster spot with Cleveland.

He is an underdog that I am pulling for. Good luck this year, LaRoche!